The Galaxy S5 has a built-in kill switch that can brick the phone if it’s stolen

There are plenty of terrific new features in Samsung’s soon-to-be-released Galaxy S5 but the one that’s gone unheralded is a built-in kill switch that you can use to make the phone completely shut down in the event that it’s stolen. ZDNet Korea reports that once the Galaxy S5 is reported as stolen, it “will automatically be locked by authorized accesses and data can be remotely deleted when requested by the original owner.” This isn’t the first Samsung smartphone to come with a built-in kill switch either, as the Galaxy Note 3 also had one when it was released last year. ZDNet Korea also says that LG is planning to release its own kill switch-enabled smartphone this year, so it looks one of the next battles for handset manufacturers will be to see which one can do the most to deter smartphone theft.